Engler, a Republican and Mount Pleasant native, served as Michigan's 46th governor from 1991 to 2003. He is a 1971 graduate of MSU. He currently serves as chairman of the Governing Board, which is a federal board that sets policy for the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

The Free Press also reports that Engler's gubernatorial predecessor, Jim Blanchard, will be brought on as a senior adviser. Blanchard, 75, also is an MSU alumnus, earning his bachelor's in 1964 and his MBA in 1965. In 2015, he donated $1 million to his alma mater to establish the Public Service Award and Lecture Series.